Twenty year old George Russell from King’s Lynn is set to become Britain’s newest Formula 1 driver after the Williams team announced recently that he is to join their driver line-up with effect from the start of next season. He will replace current Canadian driver Lance Stroll, who is heading to the Racing Point Force India outfit partly owned by Stroll’s father.

Russell marries intelligence with a quietly engaging personality and is incredibly quick in a racing car. Having taken the GP3 title in 2017 (a championship two rungs down the racing ladder from F1) and having impressed with some practice session runs late last year in Force India’s Formula 1 car he has been competing this season in Formula 2 and is currently topping the championship table ahead of the final round in Abu Dhabi next month.

He is a protégé of the Mercedes F1 team and must be considered as a potential future star driver for them in due course if his rise through the ranks continues. Following the Williams confirmation of his promotion into the world of Formula 1 racing a delighted Russell commented “It is a huge honour to join a team of Williams’ prestige and heritage and Formula 1 has been a lifelong dream for me”.

This year’s Williams F1 car

This means that we will have three British drivers on next year’s F1 grid, with Russell joining Mercedes’ multiple champion Lewis Hamilton and fellow rookie Lando Norris who will be driving for the McLaren team.

Williams and McLaren are iconic names in the history of Formula 1, but both teams have been enduring difficult times of late with uncompetitive cars. Let’s just hope that their fortunes improve for next season, so that Russell and Norris can show their undoubted skill behind the wheel and give British F1 fans something new to cheer about.

Michael Schumacher’s son Mick, the new European Formula 3 champion

In other racing news, Michael Schumacher’s 19 year old son Mick claimed his first major title at Germany’s Hockenheim circuit last weekend when he won the European Formula 3 championship with one race to spare. It remains to be seen whether Schumacher will progress to Formula 2 next year to gain further experience or will leapfrog straight into Formula 1 and possibly with the Toro Rosso team.

F1’s owners, Liberty Media, are well aware that having the Schumacher name back on the grid would be a great attraction and particularly for the millions of German fans who loyally supported Mick’s father for so many years.